Cuts get deeper and deeper for water agencies

Update: A DWR spokesman points out that the amount of water requested by contractors has greatly increased over the years, so use caution making comparisons between early deliveries that were often 100 percent, and the current percentages which tend to be much lower.

State water officials today announced a mere 5 percent initial allocation next year for cities from the Bay Area to San Diego, and some south San Joaquin Valley farms.

These first, conservative numbers almost always improve as winter storms begin to bolster the snowpack in the High Sierra. But how often do State Water Project customers actually get a full allocation?

Not often. Or should I say, not often recently.

Here are the percentages dating back to the late 1960s, as provided by the state Department of Water Resources:

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Blog Author

Alex Breitler

A native of Benicia, he lives in Stockton with his wife, Ann, who forces him to go backpacking in the Sierra Nevada or Trinity Alps at every opportunity. He has been writing mostly about natural resources since 2003, first in Redding and now in ... Read Full